News Item

We are delighted to announce that Wellington Barrister and Charities Law expert, Susan Barker, is the 2019 recipient of the Law Foundation’s International Research Fellowship Te Karahipi Rangahau a Taiao. The Fellowship is New Zealand’s premier legal research award, providing recipients up to $125,000 for research that will make a significant contribution to our law.

Susan’s passion and drive to reform charities law has earned her the country’s leading legal research award. She believes NZ’s Charities Law needs a shakeup and will undertake a first-principles review to determine what a world-leading framework for charity law should look like. Her research will take her to Australia, Ireland, the UK, Canada and the USA as she investigates best practice internationally.

Her New Zealand research will seek feedback from a wide range of people concerned with the New Zealand charitable sector including: registered charities, charities that have been declined registration, charities that have elected not to register, government agencies, policy makers, law makers, politicians, academics, legal and accounting practitioners, and community law centres.

Ms Barker is a member of the Government’s Core Reference Group for reviewing the Charities Act 2005. She says “It’s really important to make the most of this opportunity – it might be decades before there’s another chance”.

First awarded in 2002, this year’s award will be the final award before the Foundation goes into recess next year. Ms Barker received her award from the Law Foundation Chair, Dr Andrew Butler, earlier this month.

More about Susan Barker, 2019 NZLF International Research Fellow

Article in LawTalk – Issue 935, Dec 2019 – Charities Law needs shake up, Fellowship winner says

The New Zealand Law Foundation’s International Research Fellowship, Te Karahipi Rangahau a Taiao, is New Zealand’s premier legal research award, valued at up to $125,000 each year.